The Time Alteration
by celticvampriss
Summary: Sequel to The Truth Complex- The Doctor and Amy are...undefined. She wants more than he's willing to give at the moment and they stumble on a planet with bigger problems than who is with who. They messed with time and now it is being rewritten. Amyx11
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is a sequel to The Truth Complex. Picking up a few months after. I don't know if I'll finish. I have a plan, but I don't know how I feel about writing this. I decided that I was going to try. I also feel like posting will make me want to keep writing. Oh, and the science of these things is not my strong suit. So, please don't judge me on that aspect. Read and hopefully you'll enjoy. ^_^  
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**ONE**

The engines were phasing. The control room shook. Cords flew out of their places. The Doctor and Amy fell over themselves, hands gripping the console to remain upright. It was in every way a typical flight, except that everything at once seemed to be fizzling out of control. The situation had gone from standard to 'oh, that should not be on fire' when smoke began to rise from the temporal stabilizer.

"I said flip it, Amy!"

"I'm _trying_."

Amy hauled herself off her knees and flipped the main stabilizer, but the TARDIS spun even more out of control and she was jerked sideways. The Doctor looked at his ship, trying to figure out what she wanted. She was in one of her moods, which had been happening more and more frequently. He got vague readings from the monitors and all of them were borderline paradoxical. Something was making his ship sick and he couldn't figure out what it was. Right then, all he needed to do was get her to land. In one piece. Not on fire. And not kill himself and Amy in the process. "Right, easy enough." He said aloud, shouting a quick "nothing" when Amy asked him to repeat himself.

When the ship finally stopped and the final dying sounds of it phasing subsided, Amy let go of the console. The Doctor rubbed his hands together as he rushed for the monitor.

"Okay. Could of done without all the crashing around bit, but let's see where you've taken us." He mumbled. He turned a few dials, flipped a switch, and hit his palm on a button that was flashing green at him. He studied the monitor. "Huh. Not really sure…" He tapped the screen with a knuckle. "Date's a bit muddled, but it seems like our location is sound. The last planet in the…Athello galaxy." He looked around the screen at Amy briefly. "Long way from Earth."

"So, not colonial America, I take it." She asked as he flit about the controls.

"Not quite America, no." That had been there destination and the TARDIS had spat them out nearly as far from there as possible.

"So, we landed somewhere else? Happening a lot lately. Something wrong with her?"

"I…have no clue. Something's got her out of sorts, but none of these findings are making much by way of sense." He twisted a handle and hit a few buttons on the typewriter keys, and then stopped. "Well. Right now I suggest we let her rest. Smoke seems to be settling so there's a good sign. Not sure why we've landed here, but, I find, there is usually a reason. So, shall we?" He motioned to the door, his fingers rubbing together as he waited for her to stop frowning.

"Shouldn't we stay and try to like…fix the ship or something?"

"Well, good thing about Trillvianaria, very technologically advanced. If we're going to stop on a planet to find possible supplies for a Type 40 TARDIS, this would be my fourth choice. So, how 'bout it then? Always fun to visit a new planet. Well, new for you. Not so much for me."

Amy glanced at the door and then set her hip against the console. She examined a fingernail. "Sound great." She took another step toward him and he turned away from the console, leaning on it with one hand. "This going to be our first official date, then?"

The Doctor tipped sideways, his hand bumping something that nearly sent the TARDIS into another frenzy. He set it right quickly and ran a hand through his hair. "Well. Ha...you know, I'm rather excited to see why exactly she brought us here, what do you say. Coming?" He jumped down the stairs leading to the door, effectively dodging her grasp with a small twirl.

Amy rolled her eyes. "You're not avoiding this forever." She called over her shoulder.

"Oh yes I am." He sing-songed in response, spinning in front of the door to wait for her.

When Amy finally crossed the control room to meet him, the Doctor was staring at her solemnly, hands in his pockets. She poked his shoulder. "We'll see who lasts longer. I can persist forever if I have to." She eyed him dangerously. "Do not underestimate me."

"I don't think I _could_ underestimate you." He smiled lightly and leaned toward her, his voice quiet. "I'm nearly one thousand years old, Amy Pond. It's not possible for you to outlast me."

She put her nose next to his, her voice low and serious. "I wouldn't bet on that."

He looked down at her. "What're you trying to imply?"

"Oh, don't you worry about that." She tapped his nose with her finger. "Just consider that you're starting to make me very cross and I don't play nice when I'm cross." She winked and then grabbed his collar down to her level so she could kiss him on even ground.

He kept his hands in his pockets and didn't have time to return the kiss before she was releasing him. She moved her hands from his shirt to the door. Adjusting his bow tie, the Doctor took a sharp breath. "Now. I have only been here a few times myself, but it's a must see. Feel free to look around, I'll just keep an eye out for anything useful." He began. The problem was more serious than he was letting on, but it was easier to just let Amy go with the flow and not worry too much. The TARDIS was old, she'd sort herself out. And he had a feeling the problem wasn't something he'd be able to sort out mechanically.

The last few places they'd gone there'd been issues. Technology off by a two years, a historical figure dying a few days earlier than planned. A left turn instead of a right one. Little things that just didn't seem right, but nothing that seriously disturbed the balance of time. He'd mentioned most of this to Amy, but he hadn't linked any of those problems to the TARDIS until a few days ago. Best wait until there was more to go on.

Amy grinned, always filled with that eager excitement, that restless need for the new and exciting. "Let's go." She pushed open the door and the Doctor strolled out behind her.

The TARDIS had landed on a sidewalk in the metropolis, Jhenmor. Buildings, the tops lost in the icy clouds, surrounded them. Walkways and lines of traffic rose at levels above and below them. The sounds of the city both deafening and ongoing. Water cascaded from fountains in various streams down into the lower depths of the city and trees and rocks decorating the organic structures. The buildings were the very picture of an advanced city, with the fountains and waterfalls bringing it a natural rustic quality. The entire city hung between past and future.

Amy, once her eyes had adjusted, took a deep breath and wrinkled her nose, but the Doctor sniffed deeply. "My…God, what is that?" She put a hand over her nose.

"That, is the beginnings of Artron Generators." He smiled. "Must be a few decades from mastering the technology. The generators won't smell this bad for long. It's the basillium they're using to run the turbines." He sniffed in again. "Basillium and a hint of latex…" He moved to the edge of the buildings they were sandwiched between and glanced up and down the street.

"Yeah, all that and just…bad. Smells like bad…sewer…ugh. That's horrid." She pinched her nose.

The Doctor smiled. "That would be the sewer vein running along this wall. We must have landed in one of the bad neighborhoods. Not a lot of activity is there?" He asked, noting that their piece of sidewalk was completely empty and the rest above and below them were nicely filled.

"Right. That'd be it. Can we move somewhere less fragrant?" Amy walked into the street, moving as far from the odor as she could. Not one building she passed was similar. Some were sleek black with tinted windows. Some were made only of windows. Some were more bucolic with stone work and white-grey support beams protruding at the corners and at each level. Even the trees were more vibrant greens and duller browns Amy was used to, pure emerald leaves and trunks closer to ash in color.

"Well, it doesn't disappoint, does it?" She breathed. "Even those clouds seem brighter than from home." She sent him a cheeky smile, "Good choice. I approve."

"Approve?"

"Oh yeah. As far as first dates go, this is got to be up there." She winked and his smile grew more serious, like it always had when she had brought up anything on the subject of dates.

The Doctor watched Amy, who was pointedly looking at everything around her except him now. She was never going to make this easy. And he really preferred when things were easy. At least, when it came to these sort of problems. With a sigh he let his eyes follow some movement of people in the distance. He knew she'd want to do some looking around and the city grew more artistic and structured the higher you rose in level. The Avvaxi Mar Gardens were something of a legend here and in the next two galaxies.

It did not take Amy long to find a row of boutiques to window shop. She pointed and then jumped to the next window before he could even comment on what she was looking at. He just shook his head when she commented on the 'gorgeous' gems adorning a jacket and he didn't have the heart to tell her she was looking in the men's department. He really just hoped this was enough to distract Amy from her current mission of pinning him down with labels and obligations. Or maybe that was just how he felt about the situation. Like he was being pinned down. Caged. Ensnared. Captured. Take your pick.

He knew it had been a mistake to let her win even the minimal romantic relationship she'd snaked out of him. So far, nothing worse than a few rather intense make-out sessions had occurred. Avoiding anything more intimate had, on several of those occasions, been harder to forestall than he liked. But even with that, he could tell she was getting restless. She would start to demand more soon enough and he envisioned the entire situation as a hole that he was digging deeper and deeper and soon wouldn't be able to crawl out of.

Trying not to let his thoughts sour his mood, at least in a way that would be perceptible to Amy, he began to look inside the shop windows as they walked. The people, not exactly human, but humanoid enough for someone like Amy not to know the difference, ignored them for the most part. He followed Amy quietly. She seemed to be enjoying herself and her happiness made frowning rather difficult.

Amy had held up a finger for him to wait while she just checked on one thing in one of the boutiques, and he was happy to wait outside while she shopped. She had been in there much longer than the two minutes assured when a woman caught his eye. She was walking in the shadows of the buildings and he watched her struggle with her steps, finally falling to her knees on the walkway. Her hand was propped on the wall and she tried to right herself.

"Are you all right?" He asked, jogging up to her and offering a hand. The woman's neck creaked as she slowly twisted her head to the Doctor.

"I…" She began to run her tongue over her teeth, saliva dripping down her chin. Then she bit down, grinding her teeth together before lifting her head to look at him. "Yes." Was her reply as she twisted her neck and continued to limp down the street.

The Doctor kept pace with her. "Are you sure everything's fine? You seem to be having a bit of trouble standing." He had that itching curiosity building in the back of his head and he could feel something wrong with the situation. Something off.

The woman stopped, her back snapping straight and her head falling sideways. "Muscles…" She breathed, as if she were overjoyed to have them. Then she took a breath and righted her head and let her shoulders relax. Blinking, she turned her head more fluidly than the first time and smiled. "That is very kind of you, young man, but I assure you I'm just fine. You have a good day."

Before he could open his mouth she began taking confident steps down the street and seemed to have regained her footing. "Odd. Very odd." The Doctor waited until she was out of sight before turning to look for Amy. He took out his sonic and held it in the air, "Well," he examined the readings and then pushing it closed with his palm. "That is…very curious." He was all set to sprint off and begin investigating, but instead heaved a sigh. "Amy." With an agitated click of his tongue he went off to find her because the shopping was going to have to wait.

**A/N: I already have a chapter two, so I will be posting that tomorrow. Reviews are appreciated. I do plan on working on this, but I am on a job hunt so I'm rather busy and that probably won't lesson when I actually find a job, so updating might be slow. Thank you for reading. ^_^**


	2. Chapter 2

**TWO**

When he returned to the main street where he had left Amy, she wasn't there. The crowd grew in the few minutes he spent helping the strange woman and finding Amy in a crowd was a lot more difficult. He searched the sea of blondes and brunettes for that flash of red hair, thankfully not a common color on this planet. Although, teal seemed to be. When he finally spotted Amy she was petting a dog and having what appeared to be a rather engaging conversation with the dog's owner. She was laughing and flipping her hair the way she did when she found something particularly amusing. The Doctor set a steely gaze on the dog owner who he instantly did not trust.

"It's rule one. I don't know how many times I have to say it." He gestured with his hands before noticing the incomprehension on Amy's face. "Don't wander off." He clarified even though, in actuality, he had been the one to wander off. But that didn't count because he couldn't wander away from himself so…she was still in the wrong. She should have followed. So…there. The Doctor shook away the technicalities of who had wandered from whom and smiled at the man, pushing between him and Amy so that his back was to the stranger.

"Do you know him miss?" The man smiled, craning to look around the Doctor's taller frame.

"Oh, yeah. He's with me." She informed, pulling the Doctor out of the way.

The man looked back and forth, "_With_ you?"

The Doctor fell sideways, even though he hadn't been moving or leaning against anything. "Sorry?" _Why's it always circle back to that?_

Amy crossed her arms. "That's a good question. What do you think, Doctor? How shall I answer that?"

The Doctor put a finger in her face. "Don't, Amy. Really."

"Just answer the question. What exactly are we, hm? Am I with you or am I _with_ you?"

He opened his mouth to start and then closed it, doing this two more times before huffing. "Right. You know what? I think that you knew exactly what the rules were before you signed on. I," he pointed to his chest, "Amy, I withheld nothing about the set rules and—"

She put a hand up and he frowned at the gesture, not sure exactly what it meant, but it stopped him talking all the same. "Yeah. Yeah. Rules. Rules. Rules. Will you quit it already? I mean, it's not like I'm asking you to share a hip. It's just a word."

"A word, Amelia, that I told you I will not even consider. Ah! You're…" He ran his hands through his hair. There was something important happening and she wanted to know why she couldn't use the word 'boyfriend.' Honestly, the priorities with some people. "You're so…" His hands clenched. "Infuriating. Tell you what, next stop, I'm taking you home. Got it?"

She squared her shoulders, raising her eyebrows. "Try it. I dare you."

"Oh, that's perfect. That's the one thing you needed. More confidence. You know, you just like to push…and push…"

Her nose was in face, but she was smiling while he was scowling in agitation. "And you don't hate it."

"I most certainly—"

"I'm sensing this isn't really any of my business…" The man interjected. He was sure they had forgotten he was standing there and they didn't notice their voices growing louder and the attention they were beginning to draw. Still, they didn't break their gaze as Amy waved a hand at him.

"Yeah, no, we were just leaving. Sorry about that, Kevin." Amy snapped.

"It's…my name's Kain actually."

"Yeah, yeah, thanks Ken." The Doctor also waved off the stranger's attempts to be part of the conversation. "Amy. I need to talk to you," he motioned sideways with his head. "Something not quite right here. Saw the strangest—"

"You've seen one?" Kain interrupted. Then he cowered back a step when they both turned to glare at him.

"Seen what, exactly?" The Doctor asked, despite his dislike of the man.

"The strangest epidemic, at least, that's what they call it. I'm not so sure it's an illness at all." Kain began and no one interrupted him this time. "There've been cases all over. People just falling over, losing memories, unable to control their bodies properly. Strikes at random, no one really sure how it's spread or what the cause is. They all appear healthy in the tests."

The Doctor absorbed every word, forgetting momentarily about his quarrel. "And you've seen this happen?"

Kain nodded. "Up in the infirmaries they're filling up. I'm in their regularly. New cases every day in mass."

"You some kind of Doctor?" Amy asked quickly.

"Visitor." He corrected.

"And these people show no signs of illness otherwise?" The Doctor pressed.

"As far as any doctor here is concerned, there's nothing wrong with them…" Kain stopped talking when they were all alerted to alarm rising in a nearby plaza.

The Doctor was already running toward the disturbance, "Yes, yes, thank you Trevor. Come along, Pond."

A man walking with a child had stopped moving. The child was tugging on his arm but he was unresponsive. His head was falling and his shoulders falling when the Doctor jumped in front of him, sonic whizzing in the man's face. The eyes were unresponsive, glazed over and unfocused.

"Hello? Can you hear me?" The Doctor intoned loudly, enunciating each syllable like the person was unintelligent as opposed to unresponsive. The man's eyes dilated and then he blinked, his gaze focusing on the Doctor's face.

"Awake are we? How do you feel? Remember anything?" The Doctor pressed, still Sonic-ing the area. He glanced at the screwdriver before sending the man a sideways glance, "And, pardon me for saying, but does your primary motor cortex feel alright to you?"

The man blinked. "I feel just fine." He craned his neck from side to side. Then he stared at his fingers as they clenched and unclenched.

The Doctor looked at the man's hands. "Surprised they're working?"

"Excuse me?"

"Oh…it's just…you're looking at your hands like you weren't expecting them to be there, which, you know, is weird. Hands are usually there. At least mine are." The Doctor leaned forward and then placed the Sonic right outside the man's ear. He pulled it back, but the man's reflexes were delayed in swatting the Doctor's hand away. He checked the readings and frowned.

"Dad?" The little boy pulled on the man's hand and received a confused expression before shifting to one of contentment.

"Yes?" The father asked, his voice a bit high but steady and sincere.

"You okay?"

"Of course. I'm just fine. Why don't we get going?" The little boy nodded, but looked uneasy. The Doctor let the man walk past him, swiveling on his heel to observe the man's walk slowly regulate to a more normal gait. He felt Amy's presence next to him without having to look.

"What's wrong with him?" She whispered, arms crossed. Once everyone had recognized what was happening most had just kept their distance and moved hurriedly on their way.

The Doctor offered more of a grimace than a smile. "I'm not sure yet."

"What'd the sonic say? Or tell you. Or however it works."

He flipped it in his hand before placing it in his pocket. "It merely suggests that there was a unnatural concentration of energy around that man's head, particularly his ear."

"His ear?" Amy shrugged. "What's that tell us?"

"Well, I know what it tells me. What does it tell you?"

"I dunno." Amy thought, shifting on her foot before raising a hand. "It tells me that something crawled in that man's ear and messed with stuff."

The Doctor grinned. "Oh, Amy. Messed with stuff?"

"Well, yeah. It was, well watching it, it looked like he shut down, rebooted, and then had to readjust to his own body. Like a robot or something. Like something was up there," she tapped the side of her head, "messing with switches or something."

"Muscles…" The Doctor mused aloud.

"Muscles?" Amy looked at him. "Do you think I'm right?"

"I think…" He started walking toward the TARDIS, "you might be not entirely wrong."

"Wait, what does that mean?" He was gone. But she followed.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: So, my plan for this is having a hard time working it's way from my head to the computer. This sort of took the turn to more romantic themes and I'm not fighting it any more. There will still be some plot and all that, but It's really not going to be that heavy, at least, not at the moment. I have the most fun writing Amy/Doctor moments so that is what I'm going to do. Thank you to the people who reviewed, really makes my day to see those. Hope you enjoy this chapter, although, I will warn you, it's heavy on the romance. I think it's still a 'T' rating, but that might change down the road. Reviews are greatly appreciated and I'd like to know if anyone _prefers _a more romantic story. I have some ideas for it, but the plot is what's slowing me down right about now. ^_^ Anyway, enjoy the chapter.  
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**THREE**

Another "useless piece of space clutter" was tossed over the Doctor's shoulder and hit the floor with a clang. He cursed under his breath and then dragged another trunk from one of the many closest, pulling it up and shifting through its contents. Amy was leaning on the console, her chin in her palm. He had not spoken directly to her since returning, but he had done plenty of talking.

"Any luck?" She asked when he flipped his head up out of the trunk, hair flying backward. He didn't respond right away, his eyes searching for something she couldn't see. He was concentrating. Bouncing around the room. Hands running through his hair or fidgeting at his sides. He spoke to objects and rambled. He would see something that would make him smile and have him frowning just as quickly. He paid no attention to her and that, as well as everything else, had her mind spinning into more improper circles. She dug her nails into the metal beneath her free hand and bit her lip. "What're you looking for anyway?" She slid her hip along the controls so that she was sitting on the edge of the console.

"It's…" He made a box shape with his hands. "About this big…" He finally looked toward Amy. Her shoulders back and head tilted. Leaning back on the console. Hair falling over her shoulders. Lips parted. Eyes seductive.

"Amy…"

"…Yes?"

"You're sitting on it." He walked forward and pulled one of the pieces of metal he had tossed around out from under her hand. He turned it over in his hands. "Yes, this is what I was looking for. Why didn't you say you were sitting on it this whole time?"

She scoffed, "Me? I didn't even know what the heck you were looking for." She crossed her arms, "Besides, you're the one who threw it there when you were tossing things all over this place like a nut job."

"Oh you beautiful thing." He said, to the device, which made Amy frown. He moved around excitedly and set the box-like device down. Then he took out the sonic screwdriver and stuck it in a hole that must have been meant for it since it fit perfectly. A screen flashed and wavy lines appeared, scrolling across it. He turned a dial and watched the lines on the screen intently. "Come on, I know you can match it…"

Amy slammed her hand over the screen.

"Amy! What're you—"

"I'm getting your attention, that's what." She stared and he blinked.

"Okay…" He cleared his throat. "You got it. What?"

"Do I?" She raised her eyebrows and he glanced to her hand, still covering the screen he was trying to watch.

"Of course." He lied. She sighed and removed her hand. His eyes snapped right back where they were and she was just as far away as before. He didn't even hear the exasperated sarcasm as she walked away. The waves continued to move across the screen, adjusting in height and spacing, changing constantly, but never drastically. "So close…" He finally took a step away and leaned on the railing behind him, arms crossed.

Minutes went by.

He shifted his footing, leaning on the other leg.

Another two minutes went by.

"What is taking so long?" The device he was using merely continued to make patterns. Not at all responsive to his shouting at it.

"Oh, calm down. It's been like five minutes." Amy said from her spot on the stairs, legs resting up on the railing as she lay out on her back. "What is it you want it to do? It's just making wavy lines." She stretched out a hand in front of her face, twisting it around lazily.

"Those waves are energy patterns. I'm trying to find a match to the pattern I found near that man's ear. I'm hoping this will tell me what or who left that energy trail."

Amy sighed. "Right. Fascinating."

The Doctor looked away from his work. Amy sounded unhappy. She looked bored. He found the combination potentially problematic and potentially dangerous. He re-crossed his arms.

Amy tapped her boot on the railing, still spread out on the middle step, her one arm draped over the stair below her. She picked up a strand of her hair and twisted the end in her finger tips. It was not that he was being obtuse, but he _was_ being obtuse. She wasn't mad either. She was just…sigh.

She didn't look up when she heard footsteps. She grew fascinated with her nails when she caught his pant leg in her peripheral. She twisted her body toward the stair when he knelt down next to her, giving her a cautious look.

"You're angry." He stated.

She smiled and hoisted her legs down and spun into a sitting position, her head still higher than him from her seat on the stairs. "No, actually. I'm not angry."

He let out a breath and fell sideways, grabbing the rail. "Thank God. Cause I thought I was in for it for a second there—"

Her smile vanished.

"Okay…you're not angry, but?"

Amy considered her next words. These things were complicated, just like he always complained. So he was right. This was going to be hard. Two different worlds. Two totally different people. He was so alien. He was an alien. This situation always had the potential for failure. It was messy, confusing, and difficult. But completely worth it. Every second. Every part. Take any situation and it has the possibility of disaster. Human or otherwise. So to Amy, it was worth any risk.

And he waited next to her. Very patiently, for him. Although she could see that he was starting to lose focus, waiting for her answer. His eyes were just not quite able to focus completely on her. So when he was looking back toward the soft glow of the sonic screwdriver, still not yielding results, she fell forward and kissed him.

Straight forward, minimal contact, closed eyes. And his eyes were back on her. She grabbed his collar and pulled him closer, lips parting and head tilting. She had his interest. She moved off the stairs, planting her knees on the ground around his legs, breathing into the kiss and twisting her fingers in a handful of hair. She had his undivided attention.

They were both on their knees, but he was being pushed backwards quickly. He took one of his hands from her back to support his weight when he finally tipped backward and was then sitting on the floor, but Amy kept climbing. Until that point, the experience, in his mind, had been pleasantly distracting. Her hair was tickling his cheek from her position of pushing his back closer to the floor. He may have been stronger, but one arm was not a match for her when things like gravity and leverage were in her favor. So his elbow buckled and his head nearly crashed on the glass flooring, but her hand was still in his hair.

Next he tried to tactfully scoot out from under her, since she was still supporting her weight on her one arm and her knees. He had wiggle room. He dug one boot into the floor and tried to push himself free, but she scooted with him. And for her it was just a matter of crawling. He tried to use his hands to get them off the floor, to make the situation feel less heavy, less dramatic, less intimate, to sit upright. A hand hit him squarely in the chest and pushed him back down with a bit more force than was necessary.

She still hadn't stopped or broken the kiss and, despite his views on the situation, he hadn't either. But when her hand, that had pushed him to the floor, began running over the buttons on his shirt, he decided it was probably time to do…other things. Things not…well, there was stuff. Stuff he was supposed to be doing. Other stuff. Something not tall-red-heads-pawing-at-his-shirt that needed attention.

But she wasn't really negotiating right then. Or taking any sort of hints. When he moved his mouth away, she ran her lips over his cheek and down his neck. And he sort of forgot what his goal had been.

Buttons. Buttons were slowly popping out of place. Now he put his hands on her shoulders and physically tried to quell the storm. But her eyes were fire and it would take a lot of water to put it out. She was _not_ going to let this one go easily. Not that she ever had, but there was nothing but pure untainted craving in those eyes. And it was a little scary, but honestly, also inviting.

He swallowed, gathered up his thoughts and looked at anything but her face or body or any part of the general vicinity of her. "I should…uh, I should get back to…what I was doing…" The string of words rambled out of his mouth, but it was a start and made speaking a lot easier. Made his head a bit clearer.

"Why?" She stated in that one note, very purposeful tone that meant this was not over.

His head was looking backward, toward the console, away from Amy and he tried to point. "'Cause I was in the middle…I have lots of work to…people are…there's…problem. I have to fix, you know, figure out what's…I've got to check the Micro-interferometer…" He swallowed and figured that could have gone a bit smoother, but she smelled _really_ good and she was still breathing heavily, right in his face, in and out.

"You can check it later." She purred.

"But…" He was epically denied any speaking ability by her mouth and it was back to trying to keep her fingers from unbuttoning faster than he could re-button. He fought her hands and he fought the force of her chest pushing him flat on the floor and he fought his own hands when they decided the bottom of her shirt needed to be over the top of her head.

The shirt managed to stay on her shoulders despite his trying to both remove it and keep it in place. And through the process of scooting backward to put distance between them, he had backed himself into a wall and could no longer retreat. But it was easier to keep them upright. Although, having Amy straddling his lap as opposed to his waist was a toss-up as to which was worse. The kissing he didn't mind. The kissing he enjoyed and maybe, had they been standing and Amy less 'take me now,' would have encouraged. The kissing was lovely. It was her nails running up his pant legs that had him searching for an exit. Then her fingers were up and hooking the waist of his pants which sent the 'red alert' signal to his brain and had him snatching up her hands by the wrist.

Her hands wiggled a bit, but when she broke free they remained above his waist. So, she at least was taking some hints. He felt, maybe, it was okay for him to touch her again, her back or waist or hair. But that was a fail. A mistake. Honestly, he should have seen it coming but even Time Lords get caught up in the moment. Have lapses in judgment. And kissing Amy Pond was not something that he hated. She was moaning against his lips and sighing into his mouth and squeezing with her thighs as soon as his fingers brushed skin, which, the skin touching, had been completely accidental. His intent had been innocent enough, but give her an inch and she'd take a parsec.

He had two hands on her cheeks, pulling her head softly backward. And he looked into her expectant face, her eyes were pleading. It was a face that made him consider giving in to her every demand, but there was still time. His thumb was rubbing the side of her face gently and he rested his forehead on hers.

She sighed, knowing that the fun was over. He always had a strict sense of propriety when it came to anything physical, or maybe it wasn't so much propriety as fear. Right when she was sure he'd give in, he wouldn't. It was frustrating, but a challenge she hadn't given up on just yet. Which he probably expected her to do eventually, give up. Silly, Doctor, Amelia Pond concedes victory to no one.

He didn't want to look at her right then, not when she looked so rejected. Which was the last thing he wanted. Rejecting her was not as easy as he liked to make it seem. Amy was temptation and it would have been much easier, and much more satisfying, to finish what she had just started. At that point, he was about 49 to 51. Just barely tipping the scale toward reason and his good intentions were very close to being crushed under about 144 pounds of bad intentions. Just as Amy swung her leg off him and settled on the floor, his micro-interferometer started chirping.

The Doctor jumped to his feet and rushed toward the device. He was beyond relieved to pulled from the situation by something that wasn't him awkwardly removing her legs from his waist. Amy shook her head, but hoisted herself up to see what it had found out. He was frowning at the screen. "Error. Error? How could it have an error?" He tapped the screen with a finger. "It's giving me an error code…a code? What do I do with that?"

"Call the manufacturer."

He looked at her. "Call the manufacturer?"

"Yeah, that's what you do when things break. You call them and read the code it's giving you. Unless you have the manual. Then you can just look it up."

"Manual…right…I guess I'll have to call." He stopped. "This was a gift from a Ramorlian dignitary…not a clue where _he_ got it from…" He flipped the box over. "Of course, 'made in Shallin.' Not a thing they don't manufacture on that planet."

"Doctor?" Amy's voice pulled him away from his musings and he walked over to where she stood by the monitor. She pointed, "Wasn't there a whole ton of people out there just a few minutes ago?"

He looked at the empty streets, not a person in view on the monitor. He looked around the monitor and toward the door before starting to stride toward it, throwing the door wide and stepping into the main walkway in front of the TARDIS. Empty.

Amy leaned outside, her hand still holding on to the TARDIS frame as she looked side to side. "Do you think it's some kind of early closing time? A curfew?"

The Doctor looked up and then down, seeing only three transport vehicles in either direction, there were maybe twenty people strolling along the streets on the lower levels. He stepped out of their alley and took a few steps, looking at the shops still opened, doors wide, and not a single customer or employee.

"Amy…?" He started, hands in his pockets and a frown on his lips.

"What?" She asked, hugging her arms. It seemed much colder, even though the air was warm the breeze was crisp.

"Exactly how long were we in there?" He asked.

She shrugged, "Maybe twenty minutes."

He nodded. "Well, something happened in that time."

"Yes, but what?" Amy asked, now standing at his shoulder.

"Why don't we find out…"


End file.
